Retro Travel Bag

I was browsing through my Pinterest boards the other day and came across this cute Retro Travel Bag, perfect for my upcoming trip.  I was suddenly inspired to sew!  It was nice feeling that way again...I think maybe the idea of having something to blog about was also giving me a little push.

I left off the piping since I didn't have any and added lots of pockets, including one on the outside. I also made my own handles and made them long enough to carry the bag on my shoulder.

I didn't have the right sized zipper so I had to refigure the sizing of the side pieces and had to do quite a bit of readjusting to make it fit to the front and back pieces, but made it work in the end. It wasn't the right type of zipper either. The tutorial called for a parka zipper that completely came apart which was not what I had. So I attached the zipper in the same manner as I would on a zip pouch and the sewed on a piece of fabric that was the total width of the zipper and the fabric on each side of it.

Every piece of fabric except the two large lining pieces has heavy interfacing attached. The outer front and back as well as the large interior pieces and the bottom section all have fusible fleece. This baby is nice and sturdy! I also quilted the outer front, back and bottom pieces to keep everything together.

When it came to attaching the front and back to the side piece I threw the tutorial out the window. Good idea? Maybe, maybe not. To be honest there isn't a lot of visual detail when it comes to attaching the lining so I was a little confused. So instead of trying to figure it out I just came up with my own way.

For the front and back I basted the outer and inner pieces together so they wouldn't shift while I was sewing.  The zipper section and the bottom section were all assembled with the wrong sides of the inner and outer pieces sewn together.  With the outer sides together I pinned the top/bottom/sides ring to the front panel.  This took a lot of patients and because of the thickness I ended up with quite a few bent pins.  Pinning the on the back panel was even more frustrating, but I got it done.

My way of assembly left exposed raw edges and I had every intention to cover them with bias tape, but after realizing the thickness and struggling a bit to get it through my maching I decided to skip it.  So I went back and zigzag stitched over the edges to stop any fraying that would occur, if I had a serger I would have used that.  I'm pretty happy with how it turned out.

I added a bunch of pockets on the inside because I love pockets; they help keep me a little more organized.  On the front side I added some simple pockets using the same method I used for my Pleated Clutch.  I put in a large pocket that runs almost the length of the bag and centered a smaller one right on top of it. Then I stitched right up the center to divide them.

On the back side I added a zip pocket.  This was SO easy!  I thought this was a much more difficult process, but it's not.  I followed this tutorial.  Here are a few photos to show you just how easy it is!

Simple!

And there you have it!  My new Retro Travel Bag ready for its first trip.  I can't wait to pack this baby full.  I think it will be perfect for my hand stitching projects, MP3 player, snacks and small toys for Riley on the long trip!  Big enough to hold it all yet slim enough to fit in between the seats and not take up much room.  I love making bags and I'm sure this will be one that gets plenty of use!


Christine